The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it may be described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present technology.
Renewable energy sources are becoming increasingly important. Various benefits can be obtained when waste products and by-products are captured and/or converted into a form of usable energy. Certain climate systems for fuel cell powered, electric powered, and hybrid vehicles may be inefficient or may place a significant drain on the main vehicle battery. Supplemental adsorption-based thermal batteries have recently been developed that are capable of providing both heating and cooling of passenger compartments with minimal use of the main vehicle battery. Conventional adsorption-based systems may require the use of an adsorbate, with an accompanying adsorbate storage reservoir, and a condenser, each of which adds weight to a vehicle.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a thermal energy management system having less weight or taking up less space, while still being capable of providing an enhanced range and higher efficiency, or driving distance per unit energy. For example, it would be desirable to have a system that can provide adequate and continuous climate control during increasingly longer drive periods resulting from improved vehicle ranges.